Lecture 1/ENV 107/HRh Botkin & Kellers book and others

Environment
Environment (from the French environer, meaning to encircle or surround) is a very broad concept. All factorsboth living and nonlivingthat actually affect an individual organism or population at any point in the life cycle is environment. That is, the sum total conditions within which an organism lives. At the very fundamental level, the planet Earth is our environment.

Major components of the environment

The environment may broadly be considered to comprise the following five segments: (1) Lithosphere, (2) Hydrosphere, (3) Atmosphere, (4) Biosphere, and (5) Anthrosphere.

Lithosphere
The Lithosphere, or solid Earth, is that part of the Earth upon which humans live and from which they extract most of their food, minerals, and fuels. The most important part of the lithosphere for life on Earth is soil formed by the disintegrating weathering action of physical, geochemical, and biological processes on rocks. It is the medium upon which all plants grow, and virtually all terrestrial organisms depend upon it for their existence. Good soil and a climate conducive to its productivity is the most valuable asset a nation can have. The productivity of soil is strongly affected by environmental conditions and pollutants.

Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere contains Earths water. It is a vitally important substance and occurs in all parts of the environment. A fragile resourcewater is perhaps the most fundamental of the resources we require. It is unquestionably the lifeblood of the Earthno animal or plant life would exist without it. Water is essential part of all living systems and is the medium from

which life evolved and in which life exists. Energy and matter are carried through various sphere of the environment by water. Water covers about 70% of Earths surface. So the total amount of water on our planet is immensemore than 1404 million cubic km. If the Earth had a perfectly smooth surface, an ocean about 3 km deep would cover everything. Over 97% of Earths water is in oceans and most of the remaining fresh water is in the form of ice. All water (100%): Oceans and saline lakes = 97.5%; Fresh water = 2.5% Fresh water (2.5%): Ice caps and glaciers = 1.97%; Groundwater = 0.5%; Other water (lakes, rivers, soil moisture, atmosphere, etc) = 0.03%. Thus, not even 1% of the total worlds water resources is available for exploitation by man for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. It is a critical, limited, renewable resource in many regions on Earth.

Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the thin layer of gases that envelopes earth is a great resource to all living things on the planet. It is composed of gas molecules held close to Earths surface by a balance between gravitation and thermal movement of air molecules. It is the source of carbon dioxide for plant photosynthesis and of oxygen for respiration. It provides the nitrogen that nitrogen-fixing bacteria and ammonia-manufacturing industrial plants use to produce chemically-bound nitrogen, an essential component of life molecules. As a basic part of the hydrologic cycle, the atmosphere transports water from the oceans to land. The atmosphere serves a vital protective function, absorbing harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and stabilizing Earths temperature. The atmosphere is a dynamic system, changing continuously. Many complex chemical reactions take place in the atmosphere; changing from day to night and with chemical elements available.

Biosphere
The region of the Earth where life exists is known as the biosphere. It extends from the depths of the oceans to the summits of mountains; most life exists within a few meters of Earths surface. The biosphere covers the entire realm of living organisms and their interactions with other segments of the environment, namely lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. The biosphere strongly influences, and is strongly influenced by the other parts of the environment. All living things require energy and materials. In the biosphere, energy is received from the Sun and the interior of Earth, and is used and given off as materials are recycled.

Anthrosphere
The anthrosphere may be defined as that part of the environment made or modified by humans and used for their activities. The anthrosphere consists of a number of different parts. These may be categorized by considering where humans live; how they move; how they make or provide the things or services they need or they want; how they produce food, fiber and wood; how they obtain, distribute, and use energy; how they communicate; how they extract and process nonrenewable minerals; how they collect, treat and dispose of wastes. It is obvious that the anthrosphere is very complex with an enormous potential to affect the environment.

Environmental Science
Environmental science can be defined as the study of the earth, air, water, and living environments, and the effects of technology thereon. A relatively new field, environmental science is highly interdisciplinary because it uses and combines information from many disciplines, such as biology (particularly ecology), geography, chemistry, geology, physics, economics, sociology (particularly demography), cultural anthropology, natural resources management, agriculture, engineering, law, politics, and ethics. A key aspect of the environmental science is the interrelatedness of things, the influence that one thing, action or change may have on one another.

Studying environmental science helps us to:

Gain a complete clear concept about our environment Proper use and management of our environment and resources Discovering the interaction between living and nonliving part of the environment Prevent pollution and control of pollutant sources Have clear knowledge about and indicate the factors disturbing important cycles and systems To increase the standard of living To take appropriate decision in proper time.